Holiday Recipes: Cookies, Candy and More

Patch editors from across Chicagoland share some of their favorite Christmas recipes.

Patch.com editors from across the Chicago area dug into their cookbooks and came back with some of their favorite holiday recipes to share with readers. We hope you enjoy. Happy Holidays! Share your favorite holiday recipes with Patch! Send your recipe as well as any photos to Editor Amie Schaenzer at amie.schaenzer@patch.com and we will include your recipe in this article.

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What Is The Worst Christmas Gift You Received?

We’ve all been disappointed by a lousy Christmas gift, but it's the thought that counts, right? What was your's and what did you do with it?

Perhaps it made you feel sad, made you angry or maybe you really are someone who believes it's the thought that counts and you kept it — although maybe at the bottom of your closet. Did you re-gift it and make it a worst Christmas gift for someone else? Most of us have been disappointed in our lifetime by a Christmas gift that wasn't what we were hoping for — some stories are just worse than others. What was the worst Christmas gift you received, and what did you do with it? Add it in the comment section below. Find Patch on Facebook and click the like button.

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Enter Patch's 'Deck the House' Contest For a Chance to Win $100,000

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year? Enter our "Deck the House" contest and you could win $100,000 for your local school district and $500 to pay your electric bills!

Enter Patch's 'Deck the House' Contest For a Chance to Win $100,000

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year? Enter our "Deck the House" contest and you could win $100,000 for your local school district and $500 to pay your electric bills!

We’re launching our annual Deck the House Contest to find the most over-the-top holiday decorations in America — the best-decked house in the country — the one home so spectacularly decorated that everyone in town jokes your holiday decorations could rival Rockefeller Center’s. If this sounds like your house, upload a photo or video of your home to our contest page from Nov. 26 to Dec. 16. Only residents of Patch towns are eligible to enter. We’ll select 24 regional finalists, and from them, pick one grand prize winner. Patch will pay up to $500 of the utility bill for each finalist, while our national winner will have $100,000 donated to his or her local school district. So, what are you waiting for? Now’s the time to get your holiday …

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Grocery Store Hours on Thanksgiving

2012 roundup of holiday hours at Des Plaines markets.

Forget something? Many grocery stores in Des Plaines have shortened hours Thanksgiving Day. Here’s a roundup of some of them so you can get what you need before the dinner bell rings. Find Patch on Facebook and click the like button.

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How to Make a Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Candles, fresh flowers, supplies, a step-by-step guide for creating a stunning holiday centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.

Thanksgiving brings families, friends and neighbors together, reminds us to be grateful for all we have and to be generous toward others. One way to make guests feel special is to include a Thanksgiving centerpiece on the dinner table. Lori Treffens, floral designer at Pesche’s Flower Shop and Garden Center, 170 S. River Road in Des Plaines, has 30 years of design experience. Treffens showed Patch step-by-step how to create a beautiful Thanksgiving “long and low centerpiece” with candles, fresh flowers and other products that will add a festive decoration to your party, and give your guests one more thing for which to be thankful. The same concepts and techniques presented here about how to create a Thanksgiving centerpiece can be applied …

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Patch Holiday Guide 2012

Information to brighten your holidays.

Fantastic Thanksgiving Sides

A cheesy potato casserole and delicious cranberry sauce are sure to light up your Thanksgiving dinner table.

It’s time for Thanksgiving! Not only do you get to see family, but the food is plentiful and delicious. There are multiple side dishes to choose from to accompany the all important turkey. Everything from green bean casserole to sweet potato pie, Patch is sharing some fantastic side dish recipes that may become a part of your Thanksgiving tradition. Ingredients Cheesy Potato Casserole 3 lbs red potatoes, sliced 1 lb broccoli, chopped 1 10.75 oz can cream of chicken 1 cup sour cream ½ lb ham, sliced 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp black pepper 1 tbsp kosher salt 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp basil ½ cup cheddar cheese, grated ½ cup Asiago, grated ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated ½ cup bread crumbs ¼ cup butter, melted Cranberry Sauce 1 12 oz bag cranberries …

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